


The Ladynoir Diaries

by siderealSandman



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Crushing, F/M, Ladybug and Chat Noir being FRIENDS?????, Parkour!!, Randy Savage is Hawkmoth, Roasting Hawkmoth, V-Log, episodic, teenagers being teenagers, whoever heard of that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-25
Updated: 2017-01-25
Packaged: 2018-09-19 18:36:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9455288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siderealSandman/pseuds/siderealSandman
Summary: When Chat Noir discovers his communicator can take video, Ladybug decides there's only one responsible thing to do; make a video diary.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkReyna16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkReyna16/gifts).



Sliding a letter opener under the lip of the bulky yellow envelope, Alya tentatively pried the parcel open as though it was a bomb…which for all she knew, it might have been.

 

She didn’t quite know what to make of the parcel labeled **_Exclusive Ladyblog Content_** that she found waiting for her in the mailbox when she got home from school. Her cautious side warned her that this could be a trap set by one of the many (lower quality) Ladybug and Chat Noir fan blogs that had cropped up as the Ladyblog got more and more popular. On the other hand, Alya couldn’t exactly keep the blog going herself. The Ladyblog was a one woman production, and if Alya wanted to keep it the leading source of all Ladybug info, she had to take whatever help she could get.

 

Still…didn’t hurt to be careful.

 

After making reasonably sure the package didn’t contain any shifty wires, oil stains, or anthrax, she tipped the contents onto her desk with a raised eyebrow. A small, black flash drive slid across her workstation, followed by a small slip of paper. In neat, flowy cursive that seemed irritatingly familiar, the note read simply: _For Our Biggest Fan~_

Heart pounding, she fumbled as she tried to jam the flash drive into her laptop as quickly as possible. She bounced up and down in her seat as she opened the folder titled _January,_ fingers trembling as she clicked on the first video simply labeled _Hello!_

She nearly had a heart attack as Ladybug’s smiling face filled the screen.

“ _Hi there!”_ Ladybug said, scratching the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. “ _I know this is probably a surprise, but hopefully it’s a good one?”_

Ladybug was standing on a rooftop overlooking a park, pacing as she talked into the camera. “ _I…well **we** wanted to put together something to thank you for all the stellar work you’ve done on the Ladyblog. We figured out Chat’s communicator could take videos—probably to record evidence or something—so, naturally, we decided to start shooting a few patrols; one a month for the past year.” _

Alya’s heart was in her throat as Ladybug bit her lip, looking away with a small laugh, before turning back to the lens. _“We, uh…we got more than we thought we would and wanted to share some of it with you…so, hope you enjoy?”_

Ladybug did a little finger wave at the camera, before the feed cut off, leaving Alya staring at a series of folders, each dated and organized so she could easily thumb through at her leisure. She had a pile of homework to do, a test to study for, and sisters to mind. But she supposed clicking on one video couldn’t hurt.

 

Just one…for now.

* * *

_January 13—First Patrol!_

 

A shaky camera lens panned over the streets of Paris, focusing in and out as the user tried to get a hold of it.

 

“Is it on?” Ladybug’s voice asked from offscreen.

 

“I don’t know; I just figured out my comm could do this,” Chat Noir’s voice said as the camera flipped around and the frame was occupied by Chat’s enormous, blinking green eyes. “There’s a little light on, does that mean it’s on?”

“You’re asking _me_ how your staff-camera works?” Ladybug snorted as the camera panned around, focusing on her perched on top of a shed on the roof. “Let’s just go.”

 

“Wait, let me see if I can turn it around,” Chat’s voice said.

 

“You seriously think your camera has _selfie-stick_ mo-” Ladybug trailed off as the camera flipped around, and extended out as Chat angled the camera towards himself.

 

“Of course it does; it’s _your_ camera,” Ladybug snorted, scooting over as Chat hopped up onto the roof with her.

 

“Why would my communicator have a camera that _didn’t_ let me snap partner selfies?” Chat Noir asked, leaning back so he could capture both of them in the same frame. “I don’t know how many gigs a magical communication device has so you might want to make this quick.”

 

“Right,” Ladybug said, leaning back and smiling up at the camera. “Uh…hello Ladybug-”

 

“And Chat Noir,” Chat added.

 

“-fans,” Ladybug said, barreling on with a small wave. “Guess who’s joining the social media world?”

 

“More than we already have,” Chat Noir said with a wink. “Since we can’t exactly share our Facebook pages, we’re doing the next best thing—“

 

“The _next?”_

“—and sharing our professional lives through our good friend at the Ladyblog,” Chat said, shooting a fingergun at the screen. “ _Love ya.”_

“There’s been rumors that we’ve given the Ladyblog preferential treatment over blogs like _Bug-oise_ ,” Ladybug said, attempting not to wrinkle her nose at the mention of Chloe’s blog’s name.

 

“So we’re absolutely, one hundred percent confirming them,” Chat snickered. “Keep it tuned to the Ladyblog for more exclusive Cat and Bug footage!”

 

“Bug and…you know what, I’m gonna let you have that one,” Ladybug sighed, flopping back against the roof as Chat fiddled with the communicator.

 

“Not bad for a first vid,” Chat said, squinting at his device as he tried to turn it off.

 

“Not bad at all,” Ladybug said. “You’re a natural salesman.”

 

“Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

 

“I’ll let you know,” Ladybug laughed as the screen went dark.

 

* * *

_February 17—Parkour!_

“Is it on?” Ladybug asked, perched on the edge of the roof as the sun set behind the camera.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” Chat said, stepping over to the edge to glance down to the street below. From the angle of the camera, it was clear that they were perched atop Le Grand Paris, no doubt a floor above the penthouse apartment Chloe shared with her father.

 

“Alright, make sure you catch it this time!” Ladybug said, jabbing an accusatory finger towards the camera. “Don’t ‘forget’ to record me beating you this time.”

 

“Hey, I’m still learning how to use this,” Chat said as Ladybug tugged the camera towards her face.

 

“Let the record show that I kicked Chat’s thinly clad butt in the last game of Parkour Horse we played last Saturday on patrol,” Ladybug said, sticking her tongue out at the camera. “So, _ha_.”

 

“Let the record show that there _is_ no record of alleged butt-kicking,” Chat’s voice said, flipping the camera around to face himself. “But let the record also show that Ladybug has been thinking about my thinly clad butt, so, _ha_.”

 

“Just _call it_ ,” Ladybug said, yo-yo snapping out past Chat’s ear as Chat turned his attention back to the street below.

 

“Alright, alright…yeesh,” Chat said, camera bouncing back and forth between a couple of spots on the street before landing on the rooftop opposite Le Grand Paris. “Okay…moving van, lamppost, tree, opposite roof.”

 

“That’s it?” Ladybug scoffed, twirling her yo-yo. “I thought this was supposed to be a challenge.”

 

“You want to do it yo-yo-less?”

 

“Oh _no,_ ” Ladybug said. “We’re not playing the _no weapons_ game again, Mr. I-Can-Leap-Forty-Feet-Vertically.”

 

“Forty-four and a half,” Chat said proudly. “Checked the height of that apartment complex last night.”

 

“Radical,” Ladybug said flatly, leaning forward off the edge of the building. “Make sure you catch this.”

 

Ladybug pitched forward into a tight roll, tumbling through the open air and landing with a loud _clang_ on the roof of the moving van. She kicked off, leaping onto a nearby lamppost and lassoing the tree in the middle of the crosswalk. The tree bent, sending a shower of leaves falling on a crowd of awed spectators, as Ladybug shot herself up like a slingshot, turning a few times in midair and landing on the rooftop. The camera caught her steadying herself with a short stutter step, before turning and holding her arms up in a V.

 

 _“_ And she sticks the landing,” Chat said, quietly imitating an Olympic gymnastics commentator. “Excellent effort from Miss Bug, but we’ll have to see what the judges say… _think fast!_ ”

 

The scene blurred as the camera rocketed over the street, coming to a sudden halt as Ladybug reached a hand out and caught it, swinging it around to focus on Chat across the street. With a wave, he dropped into a steep dive, zooming past Chloe as she stuck her head out of a window much to Ladybug’s amusement.

 

“Show off,” Ladybug tsked behind the camera as Chat did a handspring off the moving van, pirouetting and landing with a crouch on top of the lamppost. From there, he flipped off, waving to the crowd as he sailed up onto the tree _._

 

“Oh no, someone call the fire department; my cat is stuck in a tree,” Ladybug said, laughing at her own joke. “…we can probably just…edit that out, right?”

 

Chat used his momentum to shoot himself off the tree, twisting in the air as he sailed up, up, up, high over the camera, and-

 

“Oops,” Ladybug giggled as Chat Noir sailed over the building and fell straight down into an alley with a loud crash. The camera shook as Ladybug ran over to the edge, peering down into the alley as Chat struggled to extract himself from a pile of empty cardboard boxes. “I believe that’s an _H_ for you, right kitty?”

 

“Does flair count for nothing anymore?” Chat Noir called up, clawing his way out of a roll of bubble wrap.

 

“Not when you don’t _stick it_ ,” Ladybug called back, snickering as a shower of cardboard shreds obscured Chat from view.

 

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to delete this one?” Chat asked.

 

“Oh no,” Ladybug cackled over the faint sound of roof tile cracking. “This one is going straight to the Ladybl— _aaaaaaaaaaah!”_

The camera fell onto a fire escape, rolling over to catch Ladybug falling onto Chat as he slowly got back on his feet. The pair punched a hole in the cardboard, disappearing in a tangle of black and red limbs.

 

“Okay,” Ladybug’s voice came from her cardboard prison. “Let’s scrap this one.”

 

* * *

_March 24—Advice_

The scene started in total darkness, with only the sound of distant traffic and muffled footsteps being picked up by the camera.

“I still don’t get why you don’t just tell him,” Chat Noir said.

 

“Because then he would _know_ ,” Ladybug sighed.

 

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Chat replied.

 

“You would think so,” Ladybug muttered. “It’s…complicated. Besides, it’s 2017; no one goes around _confessing_ things like they’re trying out for some Shakespearean tragedy or something.”

 

“I _guarantee_ you that whoever this kid is would _love_ it if Ladybug suddenly appeared on his doorstep with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates,” Chat laughed

 

“Well, I can’t exactly yo-yo over to his house and ask him to the movies,” Ladybug said. “His dad is a tightass and he has about half the girls in our class after him as well. I’d be making an enemy of the biggest stiff in Paris as well as girls I have to do chemistry labs with. Girls with access to hydrochloric acid.”

 

“So _what_?” Chat’s voice said, a little more forcefully than he likely intended. “…you like him?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“And you want to be with him?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“So…what’s stopping you?”

 

There was a long break in sound before Ladybug chuckled.

 

“Me, mostly,” Ladybug said, as a small beep rang out. “Thanks, Chat…I’ll think about it.”

 

The camera picked up the sound of something rushing past it, followed by a deep, deflating sigh.

 

“Great advice, man,” Chat said to himself. “You might want to take it one of these days…”

 

* * *

_April 13—An Interview With A Vampire_

Ladybug’s face filled the screen as soon as the video started, scowling at the camera as the sound of a scuffle came from just offscreen.

 

“Okay, Hawkmoth,” Ladybug said, pacing towards the sound of the commotion. “Now we’ve put up with a lot of BS from you—”

 

“ _A lot of BS!”_ Chat Noir called from offscreen.

 

“—but you’ve gone _too far_ this time!” Ladybug said, spinning the camera around to show Chat Noir gripping a vampire in a tight headlock. “ _What is this supposed to be?!”_

“I told you!” The vampiric akuma huffed, clawing at Chat Noir’s face as he tried to get out of the headlock. “I am Count Hackula; master of necromancy and most modern programming langu-”

 

“It’s a _vampire_!” Ladybug huffed, panning the camera up to the bright Parisian sky above. “In the middle of the _freaking day_!”

 

“Sunlight and everything!” Chat called from the background. “What the heck?!”

 

“What the heck, Hawkmoth?!” Ladybug said as Chat Noir clawed his way through the USB cables Count Hackula tried to strangle him with. “You know, we’ve put up with a _lot_ from you but _vampires in the daylight?!”_

“It’s unrealistic!” Chat called, jamming a trashcan over the head of Count Hackula.

 

“Unless you’re asking us to believe in some kind of _Blade_ daywalker scenario,” Ladybug said as Chat Noir banged on the trash can with his staff in the background. “And if _that’s_ the case, why make him a Dracula rip off?!”

 

“Right?” Chat said, snatching a gaudy necklace off the Akuma’s neck as he sunk to the pavement.

 

“And before you _edgelord Hawkmoth fanboys_ start in with the _‘hurr-durr it’s an akuma, it can be whatever it wants to be’_ posts you’re _no doubt_ typing as I’m saying this, just remember that _I know more about akuma than you do!”_ Ladybug huffed as Chat Noir slid up beside her.

 

“Don’t think we don’t see you whining on the Ladybug subreddit after every akuma fight,” Chat said, crushing the pendant with one hand and making the I’m-watching-you gesture with the other. “You guys are _jerks_.”

 

“Jerks,” Ladybug echoed, snapping the akuma up and purifying it without taking her eyes off the camera. The pair shared a fistbump, a sharp look at the camera, and then the screen went black.

 

* * *

_May 14—A Sinister Message From Hawkmoth_

A dark silhouette took up the frame, standing in front of a large glass window. The camera shook as whoever was holding it struggled to stifle their laughter unsuccessfully.

 

“Okay, okay, it’s on!” Ladybug whispered from behind the camera.

 

“Good _eeeeeeeevening_ Paris,” the figure said in a deep, drawling voice that sent Ladybug into a fit of stifled giggles. “It is _I;_ your terrifying butterfly overlord! Here to spread _fear_ and _menace_ throughout the city.”

 

The figure stepped forward, revealing himself to be Chat Noir in a cheaply made purple mask that fit poorly over his ears and drooped over one eye. Despite Ladybug’s barely contained laughter, he wore an expression of condescending sternness as he balanced his hands on his staff in front of him.

 

“Some of you on the ‘inter-nets’ have suggested that I am somehow a _complete blithering failure_ because I have been routinely bested by teenagers who aren’t legally old enough to drive yet,” Chat Noir said, examining his claws with a look of disdain. “I suspect I am being ‘the trolled’ or whatever the youths call it these days, but rest assured, I am _still_ the most _menacing_ butterfly themed supervillain in the world!”

 

The camera trembled as Ladybug practically wheezed behind the lens, trailing Chat Noir as he paced back and forth across the floor. “Know this, Paris; the last two hundred and fifty-four consecutive failures have all been part of a _clever ruse_ to lure you all into a false sense of security! When Ladybug and Chat Noir least expect it, I shall unleash my _full_ potential and _definitely_ steal their miraculouses…miraculousees…miraculi?”

 

“Soon, all of Paris will be under my control,” Chat Noir continued, gesticulating wildly. “Nothing can stand in my way now; nothing can prevent my meteoric rise to…wait a second…”

 

A dazed look crept into Chat’s eye as he wandered over to a lamp hanging off a peg on the wall. “So _beautiful…_ ” Chat said as Ladybug proceeded to die behind the camera. “I must have it.”

 

“Oh my god, _stop_!” Ladybug wheezed. _“Please!”_

 

The light shifted as Chat lightly bonked his head against the lamp. “Curses! Some kind of sinister force field denies me my prize!”

 

“I’m gonna _pee,_ Chat!”

 

“Ow,” Chat said, bonking his head against the lamp again. “Ow…ow…ow…ow…”

 

The camera fell as Ladybug burst into pained, breathless laughter. It rolled across the floor and into a corner, catching one of Paris’ heroes bonking his head against a lantern and the other doubled over with laughter.

 

* * *

_June 20 —Snack Break_

“—I mean he should just quit at this point.”

 

The scene opened on a rooftop somewhere with the camera laying on its side, suggesting that Chat had been filming something and forgot to turn it off before setting it down. The duo sat cross legged across from one another, a half-eaten loaf of bread, cheese, and a bottle of sparkling water on a small blanket between them.

 

“Why _would_ he?” Ladybug said through a mouthful of bread. “It’s not like he’s let his miserable failure stop him in the past; why would he throw in the towel now?”

 

“Maybe because he’s suddenly tired of being routinely humiliated by teenagers,” Chat Noir said, pausing mid bite to squint across his bread at Ladybug. “…right?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Sorry…I assumed you were close to my age,” Chat Noir said, wiping some crumbs off his cheeks.

 

“Do I _look_ like I’m ten or something?” Ladybug snorted.

 

“No, no,” Chat chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. “Just…occurred to me you might be older or something.”

 

“Well, I’m not a cougar if that’s what you were hoping for,” Ladybug said, taking a swig from the sparkling water and passing it to Chat.

 

“Nothing like that,” Chat said, eying the rim of the bottle for a moment before taking a sip. “Just…I don’t know…you’re always making ‘mature’ decisions, so I guess I always assumed you were older than I was.”

 

“I don’t know if that’s a compliment or not,” Ladybug said as Chat shrugged.

 

“Just being honest,” Chat said, scratching the back of his neck. “Something that’s been bugging me for a bit is all, since we don’t know much about each other…”

 

There was quiet as Ladybug chewed her bread thoughtfully, face twitching as she seemed to be grappling with something.

 

“I’m sixteen,” Ladybug said after a long moment.

 

“Really?” Chat said, a small smile breaking out over his face. “Same.”

 

* * *

_July 14—Bastille Day!_

“I don’t even know if we’re allowed to be up here,” Ladybug said, steadying the camera as Chat dropped the picnic basket and hopped up on the railing. Behind him, the gilded top of the July Column stood out against the stark night sky, illuminated by a few sparse spotlights that flickered as Ladybug cut across them.

 

“It’s okay; I have a special permit,” Chat Noir said, uncorking a bottle of what appeared to be cider.

 

“You do?” Ladybug asked, hopping onto the railing beside him.

 

“Yeah, it’s called the ‘I’m Chat Freaking Noir and I’ve saved the city so many times, they ought to give me a national holiday, so I can basically climb whatever monument I want’ permit,” Chat chuckled, passing a paper cup of cider to Ladybug. “You should really look into getting one of those yourself. I have a plus one on mine, so if the cops ask, you’re with me for now, but you should see if they offer a Ladybug version.”

 

“Right,” Ladybug snorted, camera panning down to see the crowds of people gathering on the dark streets below.

 

“Besides; what’s more patriotic than two home grown Parisian superheroes sitting on top of a monument of the Revolution waiting for the fireworks to start?” Chat asked.

 

“I don’t know, maybe if you were wearing a tri-color hat or some-” The camera panned back to Chat who had, perched on top of his ears, a red, blue, and white party hat. Dangling from his lips was a party horn that clumsily tooted out _La Marseillaise_ as Chat looked directly into the camera.

 

“…oh my _god_ ,” Ladybug groaned fondly.

 

“Get on my level, buginette,” Chat said, poking her with the party horn. “The red and black thing is very _Les Miserables_ but we’re celebrating _successful_ revolutions.”

 

“Successful?” Ladybug asked. “That kinda depends on how you define success, doesn’t it?”

 

“Shhhh, it’s Bastille Day,” Chat said, pulling another party hat out of the picnic basket and plopping it on Ladybug’s head. “Put the patriotism blinders on and watch the fireworks.”

 

“Right,” Ladybug said, turning the camera around to capture her blowing the party horn in the camera’s lens.

 

“Say something patriotic,” Chat said, leaning behind her and making a peace sign at the camera. “Or…I dunno, something about sans-culottes.”

 

Ladybug opened her mouth, no doubt to say something suitably patriotic, but she was cut off by the sound of a distant firework followed by a series of cheers from the audience below. The camera swung up, catching the sight of fireworks bursting high over the Seine. Ladybug lingered on this shot for a brief moment, before the camera slowly panned down to Chat Noir’s grinning face that illuminated with every booming flash.

 

* * *

_August 23—Chat Noir’s New Girlfriend_

The camera focused in on a small crowd of tourists grouped around Chat some twenty yards away from where the camera was set up. A girl of about six years old tapped Chat on the back, tugging him down as she shyly presented him with a piece of paper.

 

“Oh my _god_ ,” Ladybug said in a tone of hushed surprise. “I think Chat Noir has a _girlfriend!_ ”

 

The camera zoomed in on Chat’s beaming smile as he looked the image over, bending down to give the girl a warm hug as her parents took a picture. Ladybug turned the camera around to capture her stunned expression, turning back as Chat practically skipped over, holding the picture of himself up to the camera.

 

“I got fanart!” Chat Noir squealed.

 

“And a girlfriend, apparently,” Ladybug giggled.

 

“Is that _envy_ I hear?” Chat asked, carefully folding the drawing and tucking it in his belt. “I’m sorry this is how you had to find out, LB.”

 

“I’m sure I’ll figure out some way to move on,” Ladybug sighed as the pair made their way up onto a nearby roof. There was a moment of silence as the camera caught them hopping across rooftops, mainly trained on Chat Noir’s back as he forged on ahead. After a few minutes of an aerial view of Paris, Ladybug spoke again. “…do you?”

 

“Hm?” Chat asked.

 

“Have a girlfriend…or boyfriend?” Ladybug asked after a moment.

 

“Yeah, you just met her,” Chat chuckled, jerking his thumb over his shoulder.

 

“Right, right,” Ladybug asked, as another period of comfortable silence lapsed between them. “Other than five year olds?”

 

Chat Noir shot the camera a confused smile and Ladybug cleared her throat. “I-I just realized we’ve spent a lot of time talking about, uh…my crush that I never bothered to ask after yours.”

 

Chat Noir held the camera’s gaze for a moment, before Ladybug pressed on. “Y-You know what? Forget I asked! None of my business!”

 

Chat Noir opened his mouth to reply, but Ladybug closed his communicator and passed it back to him quickly.

 

* * *

_September 12—Hawkmoth’s Ultimate Defeat!_

The camera opened on a closeup of a stone flower planter, with only Chat Noir’s ears and hair visible over the ledge. There was quiet for a moment as he rustled around with something behind the flower planter, before a small, handmade Hawkmoth doll plopped up onto the edge.

 

“ _Hurr hurr hurr_ ,” the Hawkmoth doll laughed as Chat Noir moved it around the planter. “ _Those foolish fools can eliminate all the akuma they want; it doesn’t matter! I, the evil and not at all ridiculous Hawkmoth, can always make more! For as long as they don’t know where my secret lair is, they are powerless to stop_ -”

 

Chat pantomimed the sound of glass breaking as he brought a Ladybug doll crashing down from above.

 

“ _Not so fast!”_ Chat cried in an approximation of Ladybug’s voice. “ _We’ve finally found you, Hawkmoth!”_

_“Curses!”_ The Hawkmoth doll growled. “ _My cunning hideout is discovered! How did you know I was here?”_

Chat dropped the Hawkmoth doll so he could bring in a tiny Chat Noir doll with a wooshing noise. _“We followed the sound of dramatic laughter until we found you!”_

_“Double curses!”_ The Hawkmoth doll growled. “ _There are no schoolchildren around I can enlist to do my dirty work!”_

_“That’s right!”_ Chat said, shaking the Ladybug doll. _“And now we’re gonna kick your bony butt!”_

What followed was, perhaps, the worst play fight in French history. Having only two hands, the Chat Noir doll occasionally was knocked away to facilitate a more one on one battle between Ladybug and Hawkmoth (who mostly flailed around while Ladybug did cool acrobatic flips complete with sound effects). The finale came when the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls (clenched in one hand while Chat Noir held Hawkmoth in the other) performed a Kamen Rider-esque diving kick in unison, sending the Hawkmoth doll sprawling across the planter with a weak _“Nooooooo.”_

“ _Triple curses!”_ The defeated Hawkmoth doll growled. “ _I have been bested by Ladybug and her good-looking partner!”_

_“And now to find out who you truly are!”_ The Hawkmoth doll was kicked off the edge, replaced by an old action figure that made the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls recoil in shock.

 

 _“Macho Man Randy Savage?!”_ The Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls cried in surprise.

 

 _“Ooh yeah!”_ Macho Man Randy Savage cried. _“I was Hawkmoth the whooooole time! And I woulda gotten away with it too, if it wasn’t for Ladybug and-”_

“Chat?” Chat immediately cleared the planter off, standing up as Ladybug’s legs wandered onto the scene. “What are you-”

 

“N-Nothing!” Chat stammered, hands behind his back. “I-I wasn’t-”

 

“Are those the dolls Marinette made us?” Ladybug asked.

 

“I…o-oh, yeah!” Chat said. “I was just, uh…sh-showing them off to the Ladyblog, you know?”

 

There was a moment of silence before Chat cleared his throat. “A-Anyway, I-I’m gonna get a soda, do you want a soda, I’m g-gonna get you a soda!”

 

Before Ladybug could say anything, Chat Noir jumped off the balcony, leaving Ladybug on the roof alone. She sighed, bending down to pick up the dolls and staring at them fondly for a second, before standing the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls up.

 

“ _Ooh, Ladybug, you’re so cool,”_ the Chat Noir doll swooned.

 

“ _Yeah, I guess I am,”_ the Ladybug doll said, posing a little as the Chat Noir doll bent and kissed her hand. _“You’re not too bad yourself, kitty.”_

 

“ _That stupid butterfly doesn’t stand a chance against us!”_ The Chat Noir doll said. _“Marry me, Ladybug!”_

_“Oh Chat,”_ the Ladybug doll laughed. _“We can’t…there’s no one around here to marry us!”_

_“Hold on there, little lady!”_ Macho Man Randy Savage said, climbing the side of the flower planter. _“I’m a registered minister, so I can marry you two right n-”_

Ladybug trailed off, bending down to look at the camera and paling when she realized it was on. “ _Crap!"_

 

* * *

_October 31—A Line Too Far_

The camera started suddenly as Chat Noir hit the pavement, suggesting that this video hadn’t been planned. The scene shook terribly as Chat ran towards what appeared to be Ladybug, throwing something with a strangled _“Catch!”_

 

The camera stopped shaking long enough to catch Ladybug crushing the item, releasing an akuma that was swiftly snapped up by Ladybug’s compact. A flash of white light, and one purifying wave later, and Ladybug was standing over a small, crouched over figure, stooping down as Chat ran up on them.

 

“I’m sorry,” the figure said in a small, shaking voice as Ladybug knelt beside her. She couldn’t have been any older than ten or eleven, curled up in a small ball and mumbling to herself as Ladybug reached out a shaky hand.

 

“It’s okay,” Ladybug said softly, stroking the girl’s shoulder as Chat kept a respectable distance.

 

“I didn’t mean to get so mad,” the girl said, shrinking away from Ladybug’s touch. “I-I didn’t mean to.”

 

Though every stroke of her hand was soft, Ladybug’s expression was icy as she stared over the girl’s head, jaw clenched and nostrils flared.

 

“It’s not your fault,” Ladybug said firmly. “It’s not your… _Chat!_ ”

 

“What?” Chat asked as Ladybug nodded down towards the lens.

 

“ _Turn it off!”_ Ladybug hissed. _“Turn it-”_

* * *

_November 1—Callout_

“- _on!”_ The scene opened to a grim image of Ladybug grabbing for the camera lens. “Turn it on!”

 

“Ladybug, I get you’re upset,” Chat Noir said from behind the camera, backing up as Ladybug advanced. “I’m mad too, but he’s not gonna—”

 

Ladybug didn’t wait for Chat to respond before plucking his communicator from his hand, turning the camera around until her icy glare filled the screen. The lens shook as Ladybug appeared to be vibrating with incandescent rage while she paced the length of the roof.

 

“This is a message for Hawkmoth, or whatever your name is whenever you’re not cowering behind little girls!” Ladybug seethed, steadying her grasp as she burned holes into the screen with her eyes. “I have no _words_ to describe how much of a bully and a coward you are! You skulk around your safe little corner of the city while you brainwash _children_ into fighting battles you’re too _weak_ to fight yourself!”

 

The camera shook as Ladybug paced back and forth, lips quivering and jaw tight. “You want our Miraculouses so badly?! Fine! Come and get them!”

 

“ _Ladybug!”_

 

“Let’s do it _tomorrow!_ ” Ladybug rambled on, spit flying from her lower lip. “Midnight; _Pont des Arts!_ No need to drag this out any longer, unless you’re as _weak_ and _pathetic_ as I think you are!”   

In the background, Chat seemed torn between wanting to stop her and wanting to let her go on, hands laced behind his head as he watched Ladybug go off, her face caught somewhere between anger and grief.

 

“We’ll be there and, if you’re _not,_ I-I’m going to scour this city top to bottom until I _find you_ and _drag you out of whatever hole you’re hiding in_!” Ladybug all but screamed. “Because you will _not…_ I’m not going to let you…”

 

The camera caught her face crumpling for a split second before she dropped it, letting it roll until it hit the ledge of the roof. From the angle it landed, their faces weren’t visible as Ladybug let out a frustrated sob.

 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Chat Noir said softly, walking over and enveloping her in a hug. “It’s okay.”

 

“No it’s _not!_ ” Ladybug yelped, sniffling audibly. “I-It’s not _fair_ Chat!”

 

“No…no it’s not,” Chat said.

 

“I-It’s not fair that that cowardly _asshole_ gets to run around, ruining people’s lives all because…all because we can’t stop him,” Ladybug sighed.

 

“Hey…look at me,” Chat Noir said. “You were _right,_ you know? The only thing he has going for him is making other people do his dirty work. Ten to one says if… _when_ it comes down to us vs Hawkmoth, he’s not gonna stand a butterfly’s chance in hell.”

 

They were silent for a moment, save for a few lingering sniffles as Chat’s hand rubbed soothing circles on her back.

 

“We’re gonna beat him,” Chat said softly. “We’re gonna beat him, you know?”

 

“Doesn’t feel that way sometimes,” Ladybug murmured, almost too soft for the camera to pick it up.”

 

“I know,” Chat laughed almost bitterly. “I know.”

 

“Just feels like we’re spinning in circles sometimes,” Ladybug muttered. “Like…we’re constantly plugging leaks, but the water keeps on rising above our heads…it’s like I’m _drowning_ sometimes…”

 

There was another long stretch of silence, punctuated by a small series of murmurs the camera wasn’t sensitive enough to capture. Chat said something that drew a chuckle from Ladybug who stepped back with a sigh, shaking her head and wiping her eyes.

 

“Thanks,” Ladybug muttered. “Sorry…kind of lost it there.”

 

“You can’t have it together all the time,” Chat said. “And, let’s face it, you have it together more than me.”

 

“I don’t know how true that is,” Ladybug laughed.

 

“Then you do an amazing job pretending,” Chat chuckled. “And I won’t tell a soul if you won’t.”

 

“Yeah, maybe we delete this one,” Ladybug said, wandering over to pick up Chat’s communicator with a wince.

 

“He wouldn’t have come anyway,” Chat shrugged as Ladybug passed the camera back to him. “That would require some semblance of a spine…which I don’t think butterflies have.”

 

“I don’t think ladybugs have spines either,” Ladybug chuckled, rubbing her arm.

 

“Well…I know one that’s got more spine than the rest of Paris put together,” Chat said softly.

 

“I…” Ladybug blinked, opened her mouth to say something, then quickly turned her attention to her communicator. “W-Wow is that the time? I-I should probably head home, you know?”

 

“It _is_ a little late, isn’t it?” Chat Noir said, sliding up for their usual fistbump. “Same time tomorrow?”

 

Ladybug glanced between his hand and his face for a moment before returning the bump. “It’s a date,” Ladybug said, paling as she realized what she said. “I-I mean not a date like a date-date or anything, but…ahem…you know.”

 

“I do,” Chat Noir laughed. “Til tomorrow.”

 

Ladybug gave a small wave, swinging off the roof and into the night. Chat and the camera watched her go for a second before Chat turned the camera to face himself, green eyes steely.

 

“Make Ladybug cry again, and I’ll pull your stupid wings off,” Chat Noir snapped before shutting off the camera.

 

* * *

  _December 31—For Auld Lang Syne_

“Come on, come on!” Chat Noir said as the camera snapped into focus on Ladybug in a black and gold party hat. “Even Ladybug has to have a New Year’s resolution, right?”

 

“Maybe I just don’t want to tell you,” Ladybug said, sticking her tongue out between her teeth as Chat followed her around the top of the Eiffel Tower.

 

“They’re not like birthday wishes,” Chat said, craning his camera around as Ladybug turned away, an amused frown on her face. “You can still fulfill them if you tell them to people.”

 

Ladybug chewed her lip, glancing Chat Noir over as she reached into a picnic basket and uncorked a bottle of sparkling cider. “You first.”

 

“Fine; I resolve to be less amazing and stop hogging the spotlight,” Chat Noir said proudly.

 

“I don’t think you’re _capable_ of that,” Ladybug snorted.

 

“Being less amazing or not hogging the spotlight?” Chat chuckled, trailing off as Ladybug refused to answer, shooting him a non-committal shrug as she took a sip of her cider. “Okay, now you.”

 

“You really want to know?” Ladybug asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“No, I ask because you’re pretty when you’re mysterious,” Chat said, setting the camera down on the railing as he leaned against one of the steel beams. Below them, the city was awash in light and the sound of celebrations as New Year’s Eve slowly drew to a close.

 

“Fine,” Ladybug said, twirling the plastic champagne flute between her fingers. “IIIIIIIIIIII have resolved to…take your advice.”

 

“You’re gonna talk to Marinette about designing Ladybug hoodies and selling them on the Ladyblog?” Chat asked.

 

“…I’m going to take _multiple_ pieces of your advice,” Ladybug chuckled, looking somewhere over Chat’s head. “It’s…about what you said about the guy I like.”

 

“Oh…right,” Chat cleared his throat, straightening up. “Gonna go for it then?”

 

“Absolutely,” Ladybug said with a small nod, and smile in Chat’s direction. “In fact, I plan on kissing him as soon as I can next year.”

 

“Bold,” Chat laughed, fidgeting a little as Ladybug poured him a glass. “F-Figured you would go for a power-play like that.”

 

“Get the new year off on a good note, you know?” Ladybug said, clinking their glasses together and leaning on the railing across from Chat.

 

“Hard to start much better than that,” Ladybug said, fingertips running around the rim of her glass. “Here’s hoping I can actually go through with it this time.”

 

Chat looked down into his cider, swallowing heavily. “I’ve…never known you to lose your nerve before.”

 

“Well you only _really_ know me half the time,” Ladybug said, crossing her legs at the ankle.

 

“True…though I have to admit, this little video project of ours has given me more of an excuse to hang around with you.”

 

“You don’t _need_ an excuse,” Ladybug said, sitting up a little. “Hanging out can be its own excuse…you know that, right?”

 

“…sure,” Chat laughed.

 

“Do you?” Ladybug asked. “I mean…patrolling and stuff is fine but…I’d like to get to know you more than half the time, you know?”

 

“That’s awfully _forward_ of you, Buginette,” Chat snickered.

 

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Ladybug muttered.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Nothing,” Ladybug said, glancing at her communicator. “Not long now…any more resolutions?”

 

“The usual,” Chat shrugged. “Be nicer, be more productive, be braver…”

 

“That’s a good one,” Ladybug said, taking a sip of her cider. “I might steal that from you; give you a break from being the brave one for a while.”

 

“I don’t know how much braver you can get,” Chat said.

 

“We’re gonna see pretty soon here,” Ladybug said, chewing her lip as a distant church bell began tolling midnight.

 

“Ooh, countdown is starting!” Chat Noir said, perking up as Ladybug took a deep breath, placing her drink down. “Here we go…ten…nine…eight…seven…si-”

 

Chat’s countdown was cut off as Ladybug closed the distance between them, arms wrapping around her partner’s waist, as she pulled him into a soft, tentative kiss in full view of the camera. Ladybug’s eyes were closed, but Chat’s snapped open the moment her lips touched his, going stiff as a board as his hands floated uselessly a scant few inches away from her hips. They lingered, even as fireworks exploded in the background, not pulling apart until a few seconds after midnight.

 

Ladybug looked up at his stunned expression with a small smile, giggling as his mouth opened and shut uselessly.

 

“I…so…uh…wh-when you said…th-that you were gonna kiss the uh…you meant…me,” Chat stammered, raising a finger as his face darkened a few shades. “…huh.”

 

“I think that’s enough taping for one night,” Ladybug said, leaning across the railing and snapping the camera closed.

* * *

 

  _January 13—Reflection_

The final video in the folder opened on Ladybug’s bemused expression, the focus close on her as she looked out to the side of the camera, trying to find the words to say.

 

“Chat and I talked a _lot_ about whether or not we should show you these,” Ladybug said, chewing on her lower lip. “I was concerned, for a long time, that if you saw these videos, they would shake your faith in us. Make us seem like silly teenagers who don’t really know what we’re doing…but that’s kind of the truth, isn’t it?”

 

Ladybug laughed sheepishly, turning to face the lens. “We _are_ teenagers and a lot of the time, we don’t know what we’re doing. We like to have fun, and make fun of Hawkmoth, and play dumb playground games while we’re supposed to be patrolling the city for danger. And maybe that’s not who you thought we were, or not how you think superheroes are supposed to act…and that’s okay.”

 

“I think Chat made a good point,” Ladybug continued. “He said…all Hawkmoth has are lies to protect him. He’s _scared,_ I think, to show his face and let the world know he’s just a guy in a stupid looking suit who happened to get more power than he deserved. And maybe that’s what _we_ are too but…I’m not afraid to admit it. I’m not afraid to look silly, or act my age when there’s no one but Chat around. And if you think less of us for being like that…well, that’s your problem not ours.”

 

“But…we wanted you all to know who we were.” Ladybug looked away again with a light hearted sigh, before focusing her gaze on the camera one last time. “And now you know…”

 

“ _And knowing is half the battle_!” Chat’s voice called from off screen. The camera panned left to see Chat Noir reclining on a picnic blanket, rose in his teeth and candles flickering in the breeze. “You coming?”

 

Ladybug sighed, but when the camera turned back she was smiling, cheeks flushed as she looked back at the camera. “Now if you don’t mind…I actually have a date I should get to.”

 

Ladybug gave one last wave at the camera, before turning it off with a small click.

 

* * *

As the last image faded from the screen, Alya was left staring at her own reflection, blinking as she was suddenly aware of something other than her monitor for the first time in hours. She took off her glasses, rubbing her eyes with her fingers as she tried to make sense of what she had just seen. So many questions ran through her mind; not the least of which was what to do with the content that had been given to her. Ladybug and Chat Noir had made it clear that they wanted Paris to know who they were…but was Paris ready for that? Was Paris ready to see their heroes let down their guard, goof off, and act like the kids they were? Or would their candor only draw more derision from the vocal minority who thought they weren’t living up to their expectations.

 

Alya mulled it over for a moment, before opening the Ladyblog with a few quick strokes of her keyboard.

 

* * *

At 12:38, Marinette’s phone buzzed, drawing her away from a sketch she was working on to check her Skype.

 

**Chat: You see the latest Ladyblog, Buggy?**

**Chat: I hear that the editor got herself a video of Ladybug _KISSING_ Chat Noir :O**

**Chat Noir: Can you imagine????**

**Chat Noir: >;3c**

 

Rolling her eyes, Marinette opened the Ladyblog, lips curling into a smile as the headline blinked up at her.

 

**_The Ladynoir Diaries: An Exclusive Look At Paris’ Heroes._ **

As she watched the hit count climb, any lingering doubts that she had made the right call disappeared from her mind. Yes, there would be some people who thought she wasn’t cut out for the job, but there were people who thought that already. She didn’t need to be some inscrutable, shadowy figure, and truth be told, she was getting sick of all the intrigue. Even if she had to keep her identity secret, she could let the people she protected know just a little about their heroes.

 

Smiling and humming a little tune to herself, she tried to summon up enough fake surprise as Alya’s ringtone filled her bedroom.

 

“Hello?” Marinette said. “I _know_ Alya! She kissed him, right on the lips! That was _so_ crazy!”


End file.
